"Controlled Experiment" | |
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The Outer Limits episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 16 |
Directed by | Leslie Stevens (uncredited) |
Written by | Leslie Stevens (uncredited) |
Cinematography by | John M. Nickolaus |
Production code | 6 |
Original air date | January 13, 1964 |
Guest appearances | |
"Controlled Experiment" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 13 January 1964, during the first season. It is the only comedy episode of the series.
A love triangle appears to end in murder, but a strange pair of men appear to have the ability to replay time itself.
Who hasn't seen the dark corners of great cities, where small and shabby creatures wander without purpose in the secret corners of the night? Without purpose? There are those whose purpose reaches far beyond our wildest dreams.
Deimos and Phobos One are two Martians – whose names also happen to be those of Mars' moons– the latter being a researcher who wants to understand the concept of murder, as it is apparently exclusive to Earthlings (they are portrayed by actors Carroll O'Connor and Barry Morse, respectively, who play their characters as a sort of Holmes-and-Watson team). Upon his arrival on Earth, Phobos One contacts Deimos, whose 'cover' is working as a pawnbroker in a large American city. The duo, inconspicuously, investigates a shooting that is about to take place in a downtown hotel lobby that resulted from a love triangle, predicted and then reported by Martian Central Control. Using a machine that can manipulate the flow of time in a manner much the same as one might do with recorded video, they review this same event over and over again. They rewind time in order to watch the incident unfold at various speeds, forward and backward. Finally, they slow the passage of time down to such an extent that the participants seem to be standing still, the bullet suspended in flight, so that they can examine all of the nuances that, at "normal" speed, pass by too quickly for adequate, scientific observation. Phobos One is unable to simply remain a passive observer, and finally gives in to the temptation to tamper with the scenario and alter the outcome; he arranges the scenario so that the bullet is deflected at the last moment, preventing the murder from ever taking place. Phobos decides to remain on Earth indefinitely, finding that he enjoys life as a human being.
Who knows? Perhaps the alteration of one small event may someday bring about the end of the world. But that someday is a long way off, and until then there is a good life to be lived in the here and now.
The credits for writer, director and producer of this episode are omitted from the finished print. They would normally be seen during Act I, after the episode title and the credits for the featured actors are shown. This means that writer/director Leslie Stevens is uncredited as such, although he does receive a prominent credit as executive producer at the end of the show. Similarly, Joseph Stefano receives no personal producer credit, although the episode is identified as a "Villa di Stefano" production at the episode's conclusion.
Actor Barry Morse, who stars in this episode, states in his autobiography [1] that this was a possible pilot for a forthcoming science-fiction comedy series, which after being rejected was broadcast as an Outer Limits episode. A contemporary press review of the episode bears at least part of this story out, identifying "Controlled Experiment" as a pilot for a half-hour comedy series. [2]
The flying saucer in the opening scene was built by special effects technician Paul Blaisdell for the 1957 film Invasion of the Saucer Men . [3]
John Carroll O'Connor was an American actor whose television career spanned over four decades. He found widespread fame as Archie Bunker, the main character in the CBS television sitcoms All in the Family (1971–1979) and its continuation, Archie Bunker's Place (1979–1983). He later starred in the NBC/CBS television crime drama In the Heat of the Night (1988–1995), where he played the role of police chief William "Bill" Gillespie. In the late 1990s, he played Gus Stemple, the father of Jamie Buchman on Mad About You. In 1996, O'Connor was ranked number 38 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. He won five Emmys and one Golden Globe Award.
"The Sandkings" is a 1995 Canadian-American television film based on the 1979 novella Sandkings by George R. R. Martin, and the first episode of the revived 1960s science-fiction television series The Outer Limits. It premiered on 26 March 1995 on Showtime and features three generations of the Bridges acting family: Beau, his father Lloyd, and son Dylan. Kim Coates and Helen Shaver also star.
Joseph William Stefano was an American screenwriter, known for adapting Robert Bloch's novel as the script for Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho, and for being the producer and co-writer of the original The Outer Limits television series.
The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos and Deimos who accompanied their father Ares into battle.
Peter John DeLuise is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Officer Doug Penhall in the Fox TV series 21 Jump Street and for directing and writing episodes of science fiction television shows, particularly in the Stargate franchise. He is the son of actors Dom DeLuise and Carol Arthur. He is also the older brother of the fellow actors Michael DeLuise and David DeLuise.
Timothy Joseph O'Connor was an American character actor known for his work in television, although he made only a few appearances after the early 1990s. Before moving to California, he lived on an island in the middle of Glen Wild Lake, located in Bloomingdale, New Jersey, 30 miles from Manhattan. O'Connor specialized in playing officials, military men, and police officers.
Herbert Morse, known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the television series The Fugitive and the British sci-fi drama Space: 1999. His performing career spanned seven decades and he had thousands of roles to his credit, including work for the BBC and the CBC.
Many works of fiction have featured UFOs. In most cases, as the fictional story progresses, the Earth is being invaded by hostile alien forces from outer space, usually from Mars, as depicted in early science fiction, or the people are being destroyed by alien forces, as depicted in the film Independence Day. Some fictional UFO encounters may be based on real UFO reports, such as Night Skies. Night Skies is based on the 1997 Phoenix UFO Incident.
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"Fun and Games" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 30 March 1964, during the first season.
"Soldier" is the first of two episodes of The Outer Limits television series written by Harlan Ellison and is loosely adapted from his 1957 short story "Soldier from Tomorrow." Ellison later brought suit against the producers and distributor of The Terminator (1984) for plagiarism of this episode.
The Children of Ares are several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as recurring adversaries of the superhero Wonder Woman. Primarily based on eponymous Greek mythological figures, they are malevolent progeny of Wonder Woman's nemesis, the war god Ares. Three in particular – Deimos, Phobos and Eris – have emerged as especially enduring characters, appearing in every era of Wonder Woman's comic book adventures since debuting in 1969's Wonder Woman #183. Beginning in the Silver Age of Comic Books, these three characters have often been presented as Ares’ principal legates in his campaigns for universal conquest, and have also confronted Wonder Woman on their own, individually as well as with one another, as antagonists independent of their father.
Terry Becker was an American film and television actor, director and producer.
Peter DuBois Baldwin was an American actor and director of film and television.
Douglas Henderson was an American film and television actor.
The Outer Limits is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from September 16, 1963, to January 16, 1965, at 7:30 PM Eastern Time on Mondays. It is often compared to The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction stories. It is an anthology of self-contained episodes, sometimes with plot twists at their ends.
Sidney L. Miller was an American actor, director and songwriter.